The natural world is more than just objects and resources

Geneva - The world needs to change how it views nature and other species to effectively address the extinction crisis, a team of experts say.

Viewing nature and other species as objects and resources for human ends will never ensure effective conservation.

The best way forward is to broaden the focus of conservation science to explicitly include peoples’ moral obligations to nature.

The accelerating loss of other species around the globe is so extensive that many experts now refer to it as the sixth mass extinction.

It’s driven in large part by an unprecedented loss of vital ecosystems such as forests and wetlands, the result of social and economic systems that are focused on constant growth.

The latest UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15, the second session of which is due to take place in October 2022, aims to implement ambitious measures for stemming biodiversity loss.

The ultimate goal is to establish harmony between humans and nature by 2050. However, in a recent academic article, the study argued that key players such as the body of conservation scientists that produces reports on biodiversity for the UN, continue to prioritise human wellbeing above all else.

This prioritisation may stem from an anthropocentric culture that typically considers humans to be separate from and of greater value than other species.

To effectively address our extinction crisis, the planet must do more than merely show technical advances or policies that remain mired in anthropocentric assumptions

In environmental science and resource management, the concepts of natural resources and ecosystem services reflect the prevailing anthropocentric approach for assessing natural value, especially through cost-benefit economic analyses.

Countries must include a wider range of environmental world views and values as a basis for biodiversity conservation. The relationship between people and natural entities is centred around other species’ perceived utility for helping humans live the good life.

There is no explicit reference in a new global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services report to the good lives of people and nature as to what they might need to thrive. The report fails to advocate for the inherent value of all the planet’s inhabitants.